In Tuoba Jue's harem, there are three women who can be called "high authority".
One was Empress Murong, who was Tuoba Jue's empress;
One was Liu Guiren, who initially had the opportunity to become empress, but unfortunately failed to do so, but her son eventually obtained the right to inherit the throne;
One was Lady He, who was Tuoba Jue's aunt, and her son killed Tuoba Jue in an attempt to usurp the throne. (Tuoba Jue's aunt was also Tuoba Jue's concubine.) ）
Why are these three women the most powerful and powerful in Tuoba Jue's harem? Is it because Tuoba Jue trusts them the most? In my opinion: the probability is very low.
The three women have one thing in common: they all have unusual family backgrounds.
Empress Murong's father was the Later Yan emperor Murong Bao, and in the history of the Five Hu and Sixteen Kingdoms, Murong Shi was definitely an important family that flourished for hundreds of years.
Empress Dowager Murong of the Daowu clan, daughter of Baozhi Jiye. - Book of Wei, vol. XIII, Liechuan No. 1, Empress Liechuan
Although Murong Shi later declined, Murong De's Southern Yan occupied Shandong, and Murong Sheng's successor Later Yan occupied Liaoning, which showed that Murong Shi still had some influence.
Liu Guiren's uncle was Liu Kuren, who was once the overlord of the steppe, and during the former Qin rule, the Tuoba family was only a subordinate of Liu Kuren. Liu Kuren died, and Liu Guiren's father Liu Ju took over Liu Kuren's position.
Empress Dowager Xuanmu of the Daowu Clan and Daughter of Liu. - Book of Wei, vol. XIII, Liechuan No. 1, Empress Liechuan
Later, Liu Xian (Liu Kuren's son) killed Liu Guiren's father and pressed Tuoba Jue step by step in an attempt to dominate the grasslands. Looking at this history alone, we know that Liu's influence in the Northern Wei Dynasty cannot be underestimated.
Lady He's sister was Tuoba Jue's mother, and Lady He's brother was the famous He Ne. The reason why Tuoba Jue was able to ascend to the throne smoothly was inseparable from the strong support of the He brothers and sisters.
Shao Mu is dedicated to the empress dowager's sister, beautiful and beautiful. - Book of Wei, vol. 16, Liechuan 4, Seven Kings of Daowu
Although Tuoba Jue knocked and beat He Ne after he took over the monopoly of power, in general, He Ne retained the position of high-ranking official, and Tuoba Jue did not kill him. From this point of view, He's influence in the Northern Wei Dynasty was also not small.
We can conclude from these commonalities that these women are able to occupy an important position in Tuoba's harem mainly because of their prominent families.
For political marriage, finding ways to gain benefits is the most important. Tuoba Jue should be both co-opted and wary of the three of them, and there was absolutely no trust. In political marriage, the factor of male and female love is almost negligible, and it is really unbelievable to say how much Tuoba Jue loves them.
The history books usually say this about Madame He.
Lady He was Tuoba Jue's aunt, and as soon as Tuoba Jue saw this extremely beautiful aunt, she immediately fell mad with love. Ignoring his mother's persuasion, Tuoba Jue killed his uncle and eventually seized the beautiful aunt.
Chu Taizu, such as the Helan Ministry, was pleased to see it, and after the offering, please accept it. Later: "No, this is too beautiful or not, and there is already a husband." "Taizu Secret made people kill their husbands and accept them, and they gave birth to Shao, and eventually caused great rebellion." - Book of Wei, vol. 16, Liechuan 4, Seven Kings of Daowu
Is this content credible? In my opinion: there is no credibility.
1. Who is Tuoba Jue's uncle? The history books do not record it. But if Mrs. He really had such a husband, judging by Mrs. He's identity, her husband would never be an obscure little person.
Second, if Tuoba Jue forcibly marries his aunt in this way, he will not only have to assume moral responsibility, but he is more likely to force a potential interest group into his opposition. Because according to the first point of analysis, Tuoba Jue's uncle is certainly not an ordinary person, at this time Tuoba Jue is in the entrepreneurial stage, if he really does this kind of inconspicuous thing for a woman, then he is not Tuoba Jue.
Judging from the age of Tuoba Shao (Lady He's son), if Tuoba Jue really killed his uncle and abused his aunt, it would have to be at least before 393 AD, because Tuoba Shao was born in 394 AD.
However, in 393 AD, Tuoba Jue was only 22 years old, when Later Yan was still in its heyday, and the Northern Wei Victory of Later Yan's Battle of Hepi took place in 395 AD. In the current environment of the great enemy, does Tuoba Jue dare to act so wantonly?
Third, nomads do have the bad habit of taking their mothers into the house, but they are all unrelated mothers. If Lady He was not related to Tuoba Jue's biological mother, Tuoba Jue would have accepted her into the room. But Lady He is the sister of Tuoba Jue's biological mother, and even if she is a nomadic people, this practice is "incest".
If this matter was true, Tuoba Jue would certainly not dare to raise Lady He's status very high. In this way, Lady He was at best a mistress by Tuoba Jue's side.
You can refer to the situation in the Xiongnu Khanate, emperor Liu Cong and Empress Shan messed with the relationship between men and women, and as a result, Empress Shan was ashamed and had no land, and could only end up committing suicide.
The pseudo-empress Dowager Shan's posture is exquisite and steamy. Shan is the mother of Qi, and Shan Shi has repeatedly thought that he has died in shame, and Cong has no end to mourning. —— Book of Jin, vol. 12, Zaiji 2
Combining the above three reasons, I think that Tuoba Jue's marriage with Lady He should not have so many dog blood plots. For the common good, the He and Tuoba clans jointly led the incestuous marriage.
In this way, Madame He's status will be very high, and her personality will be very high-profile, because this is the purpose of political marriage. If Tuoba Jue did not highlight Lady He's position, why would he risk the world to create such an incestuous marriage?
Tuoba Shao, the son of Lady He, had the opportunity to compete for the throne because his mother held a high position in Tuoba Jue's harem. If Tuoba Shao's mother was just an unsightly mistress, then Tuoba Shao would not get much support at all.
Political marriage is of course necessary, but why should it be achieved in an incestuous way?
I think the main reason is that Tuoba Jue was not strong enough at that time and was still subject to the He family.
You can think of the events of the early years of the Western Han Dynasty: Liu Ying, the Emperor of Hanhui, was the biological son of Empress Lü, and his empress was the daughter of his own sister, in other words, Zhang Yan, the empress of Emperor Liu Ying of Hanhui, was his niece.
This was absolutely ridiculous and incestuous, how could Liu Ying, the Emperor of Han Hui, accept it? But he had no power, even if he wanted to. So Liu Ying could only drink and have fun every day, and it was said that she did not even touch her niece.
Because Tuoba Shao was born in 394 AD, the latest time Lady He married Tuoba Jue was also in 393 AD. He Shi would never throw a family member to Tuoba Jue without a name, and let him play with it for a few years before becoming a relative.
However, in 393, Tuoba Jue was only 22 years old, and with the support of his uncle He Ne, he took over the Xiongnu Liu Weichen's department, and had just achieved some success. If at this time, the He clan threatened Tuoba Jue with a marriage, Tuoba Jue really did not dare to resist.
Because at this time, Tuoba Jue only repelled the strong enemy, but failed to destroy the other party, and Then Yan was still looking at the tiger.
But the problem is: if Tuoba Jue is forced to marry Lady He, he can completely snub this woman after monopolizing power, and by the way, he will snub his son Tuoba Shao together. But Tuoba Jue did not do this in the end, why is this?
The main reason is balance.
Tuoba Shao was only tuoba's second son, and before tuoba shao, there was also the eldest son Tuoba Si born to Liu Guiren. He was made the King of Qi by Tuoba Jue, worshiped Xiangguo, and was given the title of Grand General on Horse Riding.
In the sixth year of Tianxing, he was the king of Qi, worshiped Xiangguo, and rode a great general. - Book of Wei, vol. 3, Emperor Ji 3, Taizong Ji
With the stability of Tuoba Jue's career, Tuoba Si's age has also grown, and his reputation has always been good, known for his "benevolence".
Emperor Mingrui was lenient and resolute, and he did not move in a manner, and Taizu was very curious. - Book of Wei, vol. 3, Emperor Ji 3, Taizong Ji
However, if he stood in Tuoba Jue's point of view, he would definitely worry about a question: Tuoba Si, the king of Qi, had a very good reputation, and once he had any crooked thoughts, would he find a way to slaughter Lao Tzu and become emperor himself?
From the two Jin Dynasties to the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the biggest strange circle is that family members may be able to unite when fighting the world, and once the world is stable, the family members will begin to fight infighting, and they will not give up until they kill a river of blood.
I dare not say that this is true of every family, but if most families are like this, it should be fine. If Tuoba Jue had this sense of crisis, it would not be surprising.
In this context, Tuoba Jue not only did not coldly meet the second son Tuoba Shao born of incest, but has always been appointed. At the same time that Tuoba Si was made the King of Qi, Tuoba Shao was also made the King of Qinghe and awarded the title of Grand General of the Southern Army.
In the winter of October, the West Zhaoyang Hall. Yi Di (乙卯), Li Shao (立绍) was the King of Qinghe (清河王), and the General of Jia Zhengnan (加征南大將軍). --Vol. II. Emperor Ji Ii. Taizu Ji
Judging from the title, the two-character king is the king of the county, and it is not as honorable as the prince of the one-word king. However, judging from the reward method of "Wang Jue + General", Tuoba Shao is only one head lower than Tuoba Si, and her mother Lady He is of high status, so Tuoba Shao is absolutely qualified to balance Tuoba Si.
It is also true that Tuoba Si does not like Tuoba Shao's younger brother horizontally and vertically, and the relationship between the two has always been very poor. This should be the result that Tuoba Jue hoped for, the two sons balanced each other, and no one could mess around.
Ming Yuan often blamed it with righteousness, and thus did not agree. --History of the North, vol. 16, Column IV
From the perspective of political games, Tuoba Jue's set is quite ok and does not make too obvious mistakes. However, Tuoba Shao obviously overestimated his own strength, believing that as long as he slaughtered his own old son Tuoba Jue and had the support of the maternal He clan, he would definitely be able to win the world.
In this situation of "calculating without a heart", Tuoba Shao eventually killed Tuoba Jue. However, Tuoba Shao did not get what he expected in the end and was killed by his brother Tuoba Si.
In the winter and October of the sixth year of Tianqi, King Shao of Qinghe rebelled and Taizu collapsed. Emperor into The Curse of Shao. - Book of Wei, vol. 3, Emperor Ji 3, Taizong Ji
It is lamentable to think that Tuoba Jue I actually left the stage of history in such a way.
Recommended reading of related articles in previous periods:
Ending the infighting, the Northern Wei Dynasty rose
Murong Chui vigorously supported him, and Tuoba Jue became dominant in the chaotic world
Northern Wei was proficient in guerrilla warfare, and Later Yan lost his courage to join the Hepi